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30 Years Later: Women Business Owners Continue Fight for Equality

NAWBO puts a spotlight on the 30-year anniversary of The Women’s Business Ownership Act, H.R. 5050

Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) released “Spotlight on H.R. 5050: The Bill that Changed Everything for Women Business Owners.” This white paper, sponsored by The PNC Financial Services Group, reflects on the provisions that transformed the course for women business owners and highlights the current areas for improved policy and better women involvement. The white paper includes anecdotes of NAWBO leaders who played a role in H.R. 5050, as well as assessments of the current status of women business owners from NAWBO leaders and luminaries in the women business owner community including SBA Administrator Linda McMahon and NWBC Chair Carla Harris. Right now, women own an estimated 11.6 million businesses employing nearly 9 million people and generating nearly $1.7 trillion in revenues.

Noteworthy sections of The Women’s Business Ownership Act included:

Erasing the need for a male relative or husband to co-sign a business loan,

Establishing the Women’s Business Center (WBC) program,

Creating the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), and

Requiring the Census Bureau to include women-owned c-corporations, which expanded research beyond the self-employed and into bigger women-owned businesses.

“We need to stay engaged. We are just as responsible as those who represent us,” says Kathleen Warnick, NAWBO national board chair. “We must offer our policymakers sound ideas to continue moving forward and help them create policies that nurture a prosperous environment for all women-owned businesses.”

“It seems incomprehensible today to think that just 30 years ago, simple acts of financial independence like obtaining business credit under your own name, were denied to our mothers and grandmothers,” says Beth Marcello, PNC director of Women’s Business Development. “As we pause to commemorate the 30th anniversary of H.R. 5050, we also recognize that the work is not done. At PNC, we’re fully committed to supporting women who own and run businesses, and to working with organizations like NAWBO to help overcome the barriers that remain.”

Opportunities for future engagement and policy include:

Expanding access to capital,

Providing for research that assesses and meets the needs of women business owners,

Targeting support for women of color and women in tech,

Giving WBCs the tools to create more of an emphasis on business expansion, and

Providing an avenue for more women involvement in procurement.

“Business owners require tools to get their business up and running: resources, access to capital, counseling from business experts and their peers, as well as research that covers their demographic. We must ensure that women are provided these tools just as much as their male counterparts,” according to Teresa Meares, NAWBO Institute for Entrepreneurial Development board chair.

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About PNC
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.

About NAWBO
Founded in 1975, NAWBO is the unified voice of America's more than 11.6 million women-owned businesses representing the fastest growing segment of the economy. NAWBO is the only dues-based organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs across all industries. NAWBO develops programs that help navigate women entrepreneurs through the various stages of their business growth.